Guest: Jim Keravala. Topics: Shackleton Energy’s cislunar economic development plans. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Jim Keravala to the program to talk with us about the Cislunar development plans for Shackleton Energy. To learn more, visit their website at www.shackletonenergy.com. Jim started our discussion with an overview of Shackleton Energy and their Cislunar development plan. As you will hear throughout our discussion, the plan involves the propellant depots near the ISS and in other locations, water ice development at the lunar north and south pole, the use of insitu resources and eventually Shackleton industrial astronauts. Our guest spent most of the first segment describing the plan, the various stages of development, the use of robotic technology leading up to human spaceflight and benefit sharing ideas. He talked about being able to solve or at least significantly contribute to solutions to our global energy usage problems which he said would be around 30 terawatt hours(TWh). He talked about the viability of SSP at that point based on the cislunar Shackleton Energy development program. Jim also mentioned the risk of reaching the Kessler limits regarding space debris. Ben sent in an email asking Jim for his thoughts on benefit sharing, a subject put forth on The Space Show by recent guest Dr. Edythe Weeks. Jim was supportive of benefit sharing through technology exchanges and transfers as well as in helping under developed nations build an industry to allow them to compete and have a presence in the expanding space industry. He cited his work with Surrey Satellite Company and their African space development program as an example, plus he talked about sharing to make sure everyone benefitted from space development which could significantly improve life in these countries. We talked about government corruption problems and ITAR as issues that might get in the way of benefit sharing, but Jim was steadfast in the need to reach out to third world countries to engage them in space development for the commercial and industrial benefits.

In our second segment, Doug called to ask about transitioning from telerobotic missions to human missions. Here, Jim did a comprehensive explanation of the different phases of their development plan leading up to industrial astronauts in cislunar space. He talked about trades with humans based at EML1 as compared to the lunar surface regarding repair and maintenance missions of lunar surface hardware. Charles wanted to know about their choice of launch vehicles. Jim also got questions about their timeline and capital acquisition plans. Randy wanted to know if they would be able to meet the 2020 timeline referenced in their website video. Near the end, Jim got questions about the requirements for becoming an industrial astronaut. In summary, Jim talked about their ambitious project, TRLs, and the importance of the project from many different perspectives.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email Jim Keravala, you can do so through me.